Plunger-type pump



Dec. 5, 1967 F. J. REPP 3,356,036

PLUNGER-TYPE PUMP Filed March 1, 1966 INVE NT J. RE

ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,356,036 PLUNGER-TYPE PUMP Fred J. Repp,4320 SE. 136th, Portland, Oreg. 97236 Filed Mar. 1, 1966, Ser. No.530,808 2 Claims. (Cl. 103-153) This invention relates to new and usefulimprovements in pump structures and is particularly concerned with areciprocating or plunger type pump.

An important object of the present invention is to provide a pumpstructure of the type described having novel features which singularlyand in combination provide improved pumping eificiency, long life of thepump, and a minimum of maintenance.

A more particular object is to provide a pump chamber in a plunger-typepump employing an inclined bottom wall which serves to assist the flowof material through the pump and also serves to prevent damage to thereciprocating plunger.

Another object is to provide in a plunger-type pump novel means whichassist in guiding the plunger in its reciprocating motion to maintain anefficient pumping action and to prolong the normal life of the piston.

Still another object is to provide a plunger-type pump having inlet andoutlet ball valve means and means associated with the ball valve meansfor re-positioning the latter on their valve seats after each valvingfunction whereby to prolong the life of these valve means and to causethem to work more efficiently.

Additional objects and advantages will become apparent from thefollowing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawingswhich illustrate a preferred form of the device.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a vertical cross sectional view of a pump structureembodying features of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary, vertical sectional view taken on the line 22of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary, horizontal sectional view partly broken awayand taken on the line 3-3 of FIG- URE 1; and

FIGURE 4 is a horizontal, fragmentary sectional view taken on the line44 of FIGURE 1.

Referring now in particular to the drawings, the present inventioncomprises a plunger 0r piston type pump having a hollow housing 10. Theinterior of the housing comprises a pump chamber 12 having an inlet openend 14 and an outlet open end 16. Chamber 12 may assume any suitablecross sectional configuration such as circular or non-circular, and inits longitudinal dimension the bottom surface 18 thereof is inclineddownwardly from the inlet end 14. The direction of incline of surface 18and the purpose of such incline will be explained hereinafter.

Leading upwardly at right angles from the housing 10 with its lower endin communication with pump chamber 12 is a cylinder 20' which slidablyreceives a plunger or piston 22. Cylinder 20 has an upwardly locatedannular groove 24 in its inner surface in which an annular packing orsealing ring 26 is adapted to be removably mounted and furthermore hasan upwardly opening annular socket 28 defined by an upwardly extendingwall or flange 30, the socket 28 being enlarged laterally with relationto the groove 24 and the upper end of the latter opening into saidsocket.

Removably mounted in the socket 28, as by means of stud screws 32, is anannular piston guide ring 34. This guide ring has a downwardly directedflange 36 of selected thickness and diametral dimension for engaging ingroove 24. The inner wall surface 37 of the guide ring 34 is coextensivewith the inner wall surface of the cyl- 3,356,036 Patented Dec. 5, 1967inder and thus serves as an upper guide ring for the piston. Also, sincethe flanged portion 36 of the ring proects downwardly into the packingring groove 24 the ring serves as a gland in holding the packing ring 26in place. The outer periphery of ring 34 has a machined fit with theinner surface of wall 30, and the studs 32 project through radiallyelongated slots 32a in the said ring.

Ring 34 also has an upwardly extending flange or wall 38 thereon theinner diameter of which is larger than the inner diameter of the ring 34itself whereby to form a lubricant receiving area or reservoir 39between such flange and the outer surface of the plunger 22. Lubricantis admitted to the area 39 by a conduit 40 mounted in the flange 38 andleading from a supply container 41.

Plunger 22 has a bottom end wall 42 provided with a central opening 43for receiving a flanged crank connecting insert 44, such insert beingremovably secured to the end wall 42 by stud screws 45. Connectinginsert 44 has a pair of integral upwardly directed lugs or blocks 46supporting a short shaft 48 therebetween. Pivotally mounted on the shaft48 is a piston rod or crank arm 52, the piston rod extending downwardlythrough an open upper end 53 of the piston. The connecting insert 44,being removably secured to the piston, may be replaced in the event itbecomes worn without replacing the entire piston, or, vice versa, thepiston may be replaced without replacing the connecting insert.

Piston rod 52 has reciprocating driving movement by a power driven shaft54, FIGURES 1 and 2, journaled in a pair of standards 55 and operativein eccentric relation with the piston rod to produce such reciprocatingmotion. More particularly, the upper end of piston rod 54 has a hollowcircular enlargement 56 in which is rotatably confined a crank disc 58,the enlargement 56 being split and having a flanged connection 60- Withan upper semi-circular cap portion 62. A bearing bushing 64 is disposedbetween the disc 58 and the enlargement 56.

Mounted on the shaft 54 in concentric relation therewith and on oppositesides of the disc 58 are round drive plates 66 and 68, the drive plates66 and 68 being secured to the shaft for rotation therewith. The plate66 may be welded or otherwise secured on the shaft but for the purposeof assembly and disassembly the plate 68 is keyed to the shaft by keymeans 70. Crank disc 58 of the crank has an arcuate, elongated slot 72through which the shaft 54 passes and furthermore has an elongatedarcuate slot 74 receiving an adjustment holding bolt 76 which extendsalso through the two drive plates and which together with a connectingbolt 78 establishes a drive connection between the drive plates 66 andthe disc 58. As apparent in FIGURE 1, the arcuate slot 72 in the disc 58is offset from the center thereof and extends in an are having the bolt78 as its center. The arcuate slot 74 also has the bolt 78 as itscenter. The offset or eccentric disposition of the crank disc 58 withrelation to the shaft 54 and the concentric drive plates 66, 68 uponrotation of the shaft provides a reciprocating operation of the plunger.The extent of throw of the crank is dependent upon the adjusted-relationof the shaft 54 in the slot 72, and the adjusted position isaccomplished by selectively positioning the bolt 76 in its slot, thelatter slot being of sufficient length to permit desired limitadjustment of the disc 58 on the shaft.

Removably secured to the inlet side of the housing 10 is a hollow valvehousing 80, such valve housing having an end flange 82 for securement tothe housing 10, as by stud screws 84, and also having a bulbous portion86 in which is contained a ball valve 88. The bottom wall 90 of valvehousing has an opening 92 directly below the bulbous portion 86, and aninlet fitting 94, having an outlet opening 96, is removably secured, asby means of stud screws 98, to the housing 80 in a position whereby theoutlet opening 96 is in registry with the bottom opening 92. In apreferred construction, the inlet fitting 94 has a flat upper wallportion 97 to support an annular seating ring 100 thereon which isdisposed in the outlet opening 92 and which serves as a seat for theball 88. Seating ring 100 is removably secured to the inlet fitting 94by screws 102.

As will be seen more fully hereinafter, when material is being drawninto the inlet portion of the pump by means of an upstroke of theplunger, the ball valve 88 is forced upwardly into the bulbous portion86 whereby to be in an out-of-the-way position for the passage ofmaterial through the pump. An abutment rib having a substantiallyvertical edge 105 extends up along the inner surface of housing portion86, and leading from such rib is a second abutment rib 106 having anedge 108 which leads inwardly of the housing and is angled upwardly. Thepurpose of ribs 104 and 106 is to provide a rotative adjustment of theball valve 88 each time said ball valve is raised upwardly into abutmenttherewith. That is, on each upstroke of the pump plunger the ball 88 ismoved upwardly and in such upward movement engages and rolls up alongrib 104. If the ball moves upwardly against rib 106 it will roll alongthe angled edge thereof, and in any case will engage one or the other orboth of said ribs. Such rolling adjustment of the ball valve on eachstroke of the plunger prevents uneven wearing of the valve and thereforecontributes to a long and etficient sealing life.

Removably secured to the outlet side of the housing is an outlet fitting110 having an end flange 112 for securement to the housing as by meansof stud screws 114. This fitting has a flat upper wall portion 116provided with an outlet opening 113. Seated on the fitting 110 andsecured thereto as by stud screws 120 is a hollow outlet valve housing122 having a rounded or bulbous portion 124 in which is contained a ballvalve 126 similar to the ball valve 88. Also similar to the inlet valvemeans, the ball valve 126 is associated with an annular seating ring 128removably secured on the upper flat wall portion 116 by screws 130.Housing 122 has a bottom opening 132 which registers with outlet opening118 in the fitting 110 but which is somewhat enlarged relative to thelatter opening for mounted disposition of seating ring 128.

Bulbous portion 124 also has ball abutment ribs 134 and 136 shaped andlocated the same as the ribs 104 and 106 and for the same purpose.FIGURE 1 illustrates in dotted lines the position of the ball 126 in theoutlet valve housing when it first comes into abutment with the rib 136and in full lines the position of the ball after it has rolled along theedge of said rib for rotatably adjusting itself with relation to .thevalve seat.

In the operation of the pump wherein the plunger is driven vertically inreciprocatable motion in the cylinder, the ball valves lift and seatalternately to cause one-way movement of media being pumped. Oneimportant feature of the present structure is the shape of the pumpchamber 12 and particularly the inclined bottom wall 18 thereof. Asapparent in FIGURE 1 the wall 18 inclines downwardly from the inletopening 14 or more specifically is angled with relation to the plane ofthe end wall 42 of the plunger, the direction of downward inclination ofsuch wall, or in other words the widening portion thereof, being towardthe outlet opening 16. By means of such structure the media being pumpedflows more freely toward the outlet and in addition any particles insuch media are moved down the wall 18 by the downward pinching forceexerted by the plunger. Thus, particles which ordinarily may damage theplunger are forced right on through.

The ball valves 88 and 126, being rotatably adjusted upon each stroke ofthe plunger, have a long operating life and since they do not becomeunevenly worn perform an elficient scaling function. Another featureresides in the use of the plunger guide ring 34 which serves to guidethe plunger and contribute to eflicient operation and long life thereof.More particularly, since the ring 34 has a machined fit within the wall30, it provides an upper guid ing cylinder surface for the plunger 22.Such upper guiding surface for the plunger serves to prolong the life ofthe plunger and cylinder since lateral forces acting on the plunger bythe eccentric drive are adequately taken care of. Also, since the ringholding studs pass through slots 32a and since the ring has outerperipheral engagement with the wall 30, no appreciable shearing forcesact on the studs.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herein shown anddescribed is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and thatvarious changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may beresorted to without departing from the spirit of my invention or thescope of the subjoi'ned claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A pump comprising a housing, means defining a longitudinallyextending pump chamber therein having a bottom wall and inlet and outletopenings, a cylinder leading angularly from said housing andcommunicating therewith, said cylinder having a guiding surface adjacentto the pump chamber, a plunger operative in said cylinder along saidguiding surface, said plunger being operative toward and away from saidbottom wall of the pump chamber for moving liquid through said chamber,an end wall on said plunger, valve means at opposite ends of said pumpchamber arranged to permit liquid being pumped to move in one directionthrough said pump chamber, the bottom wall of said pump chamber and saidend wall of the plunger having an acute angled disposition with relationto each other with the widening area therebetween leading toward theoutlet opening, means in said cylinder disposed outwardly from saidinner guiding surface defining a socket, a guide ring removably mountedin said socket and having an inner guiding surface coextensive with theguiding surface of said cylinder, and a flange on said guide ringextending away from said pump chamber, said flange having an innerdefining surface disposed outwardly from the plane of the inner definingsurface of said guide ring whereby to form a lubricant containingreservoir between said flange and said plunger.

2. The pump construction of claim 1 wherein the means disposed outwardlyfrom said inner guiding surface for defining a socket comprises wallmeans, the outer periphery of said guide ring bearing against the innerperiphery of said socket wall means, a flange on said guide ringextending toward said pump chamber, the inner defining surface of saidflange being coextensive with the guiding surface of said cylinder,means in said inner guiding cylinder surface defining a groove leadingfrom said socket toward said pump chamber, a packing ring in saidgroove, said downwardly depending flange projecting into said groove forengaging said packing ring, and a flange on said guide ring extendingaway from said pump chamber, said flange having an inner definingsurface disposed outwardly from the plane of the inner defining surfaceof said guide ring whereby to form a lubricant containing reservoirbetween said flange and said plunger.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,450,135 3/1923 Clark l03l531,892,649 12/1932 Buenger 137-533.11 2,017,974 10/1935 Kastner 103l532,151,514 3/1939 Heinen 103--22.76 2,766,701 10/ 1956 Giraudeau 103-153FOREIGN PATENTS 82,276 12/1920 Austria. 319,347 7/1930 Great Britain.

DONLEY J. STOCKING, Primary Examiner.

HENRY F. RADUAZO, Examiner.

1. A PUMP COMPRISING A HOUSING, MEANS DEFINING A LONGITUDINALLYEXTENDING PUMP CHAMBER THEREIN HAVING A BOTTOM WALL AND INLET AND OUTLETOPENINGS, A CYLINDER LEADING ANGULARLY FROM SAID HOUSING ANDCOMMUNICATING THEREWITH, SAID CYLINDER HAVING A GUIDING SURFACE ADJACENTTO THE PUMP CHAMBER, A PLUNGER OPERATIVE IN SAID CYLINDER ALONG SAIDGUIDING SURFACE, SAID PLUNGER BEING OPERATIVE TOWARD AND AWAY FROM SAIDBOTTOM WALL OF THE PUMPING CHAMBER FOR MOVING LIQUID THROUGH SAIDCHAMBER, AN END WALL ON SAID PLUNGER, VALVE MEANS AT OPPOSITE ENDS OFSAID PUMP CHAMBER ARRANGED TO PERMIT LIQUID BEING PUMPED TO MOVE IN ONEDIRECTION THROUGH SAID PUMP CHAMBER, THE BOTTOM WALL OF SAID PUMPCHAMBER AND SAID END WALL OF THE PLUNGER HAVING AN ACUTE ANGLEDDISPOSITION WITH RELATION TO EACH OTHER WITH THE WIDENING AREATHEREBETWEEN LEADING TOWARD THE OUTLET OPENING, MEANS IN SAID CYLINDERDISPOSED OUTWARDLY FROM SAID INNER GUIDING SURFACE DEFINING A SOCKET, AGUIDE RING REMOVABLY MOUNTED IN SAID SOCKET AND HAVING AN INNER GUIDINGSURFACE COEXTENSIVE WITH THE GUIDING SURFACE OF SAID CYLINDER, AND AFLANGE ON SAID GUIDE RING EXTENDING AWAY FROM SAID PUMP CHAMBER, SAIDFLANGE HAVING AN INNER DEFINING SURFACE DISPOSED OUTWARDLY FROM THEPLANE OF THE INNER DEFINING SURFACE OF SAID GUIDE RING WHEREBY TO FORM ALUBRICANT CONTAINING RESERVOIR BETWEEN SAID FLANGE AND SAID PLUNGER.